Shadow Hills knew it had a tough task, facing a high-powered Valley View team which averaged 46 points a game and won a CIF Championship in 2016.

But after the first possession of the second half, the scoreboard read Valley View 28, Shadow Hills 28. The Knights weren't able to continue to match the eighth-ranked Eagles score for score, though, falling 49-28 on the road.

"We knew they scored a lot of points and they showed it tonight," Shadow Hills coach Ron Shipley said. "We were trading scores and had a good night offensively, but not quite enough."

A crucial turn of events happened in the second half with the Knights trailing 35-28, but approaching the end zone. Instead of a tying score, though, Valley View grabbed an interception at the 1-yard line and took it 99 yards for a touchdown. That made it 42-28 and took the wind out of the Knights' sails.

The Knights finish 8-3 and took second in the Desert Valley League.

"We have a lot of things to be proud of, I'm happy with the season," Shipley said. "A lot to look forward to and build on for next year."

Cajon 48, Palm Springs 6: The Indians went on the road against one of the top teams in the Southern Section and could not pull off the major upset. Cajon opened up a 28-0 first quarter lead and cruised to the win.

The Indians finished the season at 4-7.

CLOSE

In a season where they gathered no great wins, but no terrible losses, the Palm Springs football team snuck into the playoffs and is looking to play spoiler against an incredibly talented Cajon Cowboys squad.
Wochit

Laguna Blanca 44, Desert Christian Academy 35: The football gods did not smile on the Conquerors in their eight-man D-2 quarterfinal contest.

Already without starting quarterback Wyatt Snellenberger who was injured in a recent practice, DCA lost both its top running backs who are also top defenders to injury throughout the game.

"All the things that could go wrong went wrong at the wrong time," first-year coach George Thomas said. "Take nothing away from Laguna Blanca who played well, but I feel like if we lost just one of those guys instead of all three or something like that, we might have had a different outcome."

A key moment came with Desert Christian Academy up 20-6 and on the goal-line ready to score again. But on a quarterback sneak, the Laguna Blanca defender didn't just stop the Conquerors' QB, he stripped the ball out of his hands and took it the other way for a touchdown. Instead of a 27-6 lead, it was 20-13 and the momentum shifted.

Bryce Jordan and Mark Spates were the two players who went down to injury during the game. Thomas said it was on the defensive side of the ball -- Jordan the team's starting safety and Spates the team's top linebacker -- where their absence really hurt.

"I like how we fought without those guys, but it was just too many key guys," Thomas said.

The Conquerors finished 6-4 in their final season as an eight-man team. Desert Christian Academy is set to play 11-man football next season.